What began as a small local theater company called Village Productions, and then grew into the Tri-County Performing Arts Center has now matured into the Steel River Playhouse, the name and brand which will adorn the soon-to-be completed facade of Pottstown’s premier arts center.

As anyone who has driven or walked down the 200 block of High Street knows, the front of the former Newberry’s store has been “getting a little work done” for quite some time now.

But now that the appropriate materials have arrived, and a June 15 “grand re-opening” looms, look to see that new marquee finished in a short time, said Marta Kiesling, executive director of the Steel River Playhouse.

Advertisement

Better get used to saying that.

“We always knew we didn’t want to stay with the Tri-PAC name, it’s very sterile,” Kiesling said. “It was always been kind of a place-holder for us.”

Kiesling explained that when the organization began, it was named Village Productions because “it was right after 9-11 and we wanted a name that was warm, and inviting and intimate.”

But that name did not work when, in 2005, the group moved into and renovated its new home at 245 E. High St. and built a 250-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms that transform into an intimate “second stage” and three private lesson studios.

At the same time, the recession made it quickly evident the organization needed to focus on “keeping the doors open,” until the economic picture began to brighten.

Partly by design and partly by happy coincidence, the recession is beginning to ease enough that a major new capital campaign can be launched and the funding for the facade improvements was arranged.

So it seemed like the perfect time to conduct the “re-branding” the organization had always anticipated, Kiesling said.

The new name was not simply picked out of a hat.

“It’s a compilation of several concepts,” Kiesling said.

“It pays homage to the historical roots of our community, which evolved from John Potts’ iron mill to the steel industry and Bethlehem Steel,” Kiesling explained.

“And that blends nicely with our physical location, where we retained the bare bones inside, and you can see the Bethlehem Steel I-beam, so that all seemed to work,” she said.

As for the “River” part of the name, “well we’re on the Schuylkill River and we’re home to the Schuylkill River State and National Heritage Area and we wanted to juxtapose the urban, edgy feel you get from ‘steel’ with the fluid, creative aspect of what we do, which we get with ‘river,’” said Kiesling.

The “Playhouse” was easy said Kiesling: “It has the word ‘play’ in it and we like to play.”

“As soon as ‘Steel River Playhouse’ came up, everybody said, ‘that’s it,’” said Joshua Lampe of StandingStone Media, which worked with the group to forge its new image.

There was some consideration given to the fact that “Playhouse” is “most traditionally associated with theater performances,” said Kiesling, and the High Street facility is so much more — with classrooms and lessons for singing, music, acting and dance and musical performances as well as theatrical fare.

“But that name is getting more diversified these days. And although ‘Performing Arts Center’ is sort of the industry term, I don’t think it means a lot to people outside of the business,” Kiesling said.

One thing the business of running a non-profit performing arts center does need, as most know, is money.

Which brings us to the Steel River Playhouse’s capital campaign, which is built around the theme of it being a “gateway” facility.

“That’s how we’re trying to convey to people that we are a unique type of performing arts organization,” said Kiesling. “There are more of this type of center in the mid-west; that have a performance venue for music and theater and dance, and are also an educational institution. It’s a different kind of model that serves as a gateway for all types of people.”

She explained that it works for the beginner — someone like David Bazemore who was a lead in the center’s production of “Pippin” last year and is now a professional actor on tour in California with the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s “Scottsboro Boys.”

It also works for experienced professionals, like the director known world-wide for avant garde productions, but who came to Pottstown to be able to direct some classic theater.

“It’s a gateway for the child who takes lessons and whether they go into the theater or not, they advance their ability to express themselves, to work in a team and to bolster their self-esteem,” said Kiesling.

For all kinds of users, customers, amateurs and professionals, “it’s a transformative experience,” she said.

And so the “Gateway to the Arts Capital Campaign” is under way to support the Steel River Playhouse’s own “transformative experience” and take Pottstown forward in its next step to becoming an arts and culture center for the region.

It builds on the 2006 capital campaign that raised $1.5 million — $600,000 of that from individual, corporate and foundation donations — which got the center up and running.

The new campaign, with a goal of $2.8 million, seeks to retire the center’s debt, purchase the building, upgrade equipment and information technology; complete the lobby and facade renovations and establish a capital replacement reserve fund.

A “Gateway: allows people to move from one level of understanding or experience to explore another,” she said.

About the Author

Evan Brandt has worked for The Mercury since November 1997. His beat includes Pottstown, the surrounding townships and the Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts, as well as other varied general topics like politics, the environment and education. Reach the author at ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
or follow Evan on Twitter: @PottstownNews.